Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Beer Without Babes?

As a non-drinker, I'm always amazed by the clumsy suggestiveness of liquor ads, which always have the premise that if you drink, you get to have fun with hotties. It's an interesting premise, especially when contrasted with the "three beer beauty" reality of really bad sexual contact decisions being made under the influence of alcohol.

In England, all that is going to change, as hotties male and female are now banned from liquor advertising. The first ad has already been nixed -- because the government said the man in it was too handsome and might mislead women into thinking George Clooney was just around the corner, if only they'd imbibe.

Drinks companies have been ordered to hire paunchy, balding men for advertisements to meet new rules forbidding any link between women’s drinking and sex. Watchdogs have issued a list of undesirable male characteristics that advertisers must abide by in order to comply with tougher rules designed to separate alcohol from sexual success.

Lambrini, the popular sparkling drink, is the first to suffer. Its manufacturers have complained after watchdogs rejected its latest campaign because it depicted women flirting with a man who was deemed too attractive.

The offending poster featured three women “hooking” a slim, young man in a parody of a fairground game scene. Harmless fun to lead its summer campaign, Lambrini argued.

But the Committee of Advertising Practice declared: “We would advise that the man in the picture should be unattractive — overweight, middle-aged, balding etc.”

The ruling continued: “We consider that the advert is in danger of implying that the drink may bring sexual/social success, because the man in question looks quite attractive and desirable to the girls. If the man was clearly unattractive, we think that this implication would be removed.”

Even for someone like me, who's all for truth in liquor advertising, seeing that truth being realized is so galling it makes me want a double.

"Thank you for the "Voice of the Victims films. The students really liked them, and it means so much to them to hear real stories and not watch a cheesy drama like so many other videos."
— High school teacher.